Oscar Tshiebwe scored 27 points and No. 5 Kentucky won its sixth straight game, topping Florida 78-57 on Saturday in an SEC clash at Lexington, Ky.
Tshiebwe was 11 of 18 from the floor and also grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, with three steals and two assists for the Wildcats (21-4, 10-2 SEC). Kellan Grady added 15 points for Kentucky, while Davio Mintz had 11, and TyTy Washington added 10, with a game-high six assists.
Colin Castleton had 18 points and seven rebounds for Florida (16-8, 6-6 SEC), which saw its four-game win streak snapped. Castleton was 8 of 12 from the field along with a team-best seven rebounds. Brandon McKissic chipped in nine points for Florida.
Florida won the opening tip and scored the game’s first points on a short jumper from Castleton, but Kentucky went on an early 20-4 run. That stretch was largely powered by Grady, who sank his first three attempts from 3-point range.
After taking a 20-6 lead, the Wildcats endured a scoring drought, scoring just two points over the next eight minutes, while shooting 1 of 10 from the floor. Florida tightened the margin at 22-21 after a Castleton layup with 6:43 remaining in the first half.
After a timeout, Kentucky got back into a groove with an 8-2 run to pad the lead at 30-21. The Wildcats led 33-28 at halftime and grew the advantage to as many as 16 points earlyin the second half at 48-32 with 16:04 remaining.
The Wildcats ended the game on a 17-8 run.
Kentucky had just five turnovers to tie a season low. Florida had 10 turnovers to just eight assists. Kentucky scored 17 points off those turnovers by the Gators.
The Wildcats won the rebounding battle 41-25, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, while scoring 20 second-chance points. Florida had just five rebounds off its own misses, and only seven second-chance points.
–Field Level Media
